Sax-Zim Bo Sax-Zim Bog Winter Bird Festival February 13-15th 2008 Sax-Zim Bog in northeastern Minnesota during the winter months is a excellent location to search for many winter bird specialties. We are now entering our 2nd year in organizing this popular winter bird festival. We are offering trips in Sax-Zim Bog, Duluth/Superior area, Aitkin County and a Great Gray Owl Search Trip. Our speakers will be Al Batt and Larry Weber. There will be vendors from the surrounding area selling their crafts, handing out information, selling books and other products. To learn more about the festival please visit our website: http://moumn.org/sax-zim/ So far in the last month we have registered 50 birders from 14 states and a birder from Australia. If you have President¢s Day weekend off or you are unsure where to go that weekend, well head up to northeastern Minnesota and register for the winter bird festival. GREAT birds to view and scenery are waiting for you. Do you need to see the following birds for your list or just to photograph? If so these birds can be found during the festival. Of course nothing is guaranteed but so far most of these birds have been reported in the Sax-Zim Bog or Duluth area as I write this. Ruffed Grouse, Sharp-tailed Grouse, Rough-legged Hawk, Thayer¢s Gull, Glaucous Gull, American Three-toed Woodpecker, Black-backed Woodpecker, Northern Shrike, Boreal Chickadee, Bohemian Waxwing, Snow Bunting, Pine Grosbeak, Purple Finch, White-winged Crossbill, Common Redpoll, Hoary Redpoll, Pine Siskin and Evening Grosbeak. Owls? So far Sax-Zim Bog area birders have reported several Great Gray Owls and at least 3 Northern Hawk Owls! The Duluth/Superior area has several Snowy Owl sightings. This past fall season I heard that good numbers of Boreal Owls were banded outside of Duluth area. There are many thoughts that this looks like a good winter to view Boreal Owls. Normally birders begin to locate these owls from late December thru mid February as these little owls begin to venture in backyards and roadsides looking for prey. So there is a fair chance a Boreal Owl will be found during the festival. Other birds that could be seen during the festival: Northern Goshawk (to nomadic), Gyrfalcon (We are due for a sighting in the Duluth/Superior harbor areas), Iceland Gull (so far 2 individuals have been reported), Great Black-backed Gull ( 2 individuals have been reported), Varied Thrush (so far no reports but were due for a report), Townsend¢s Solitaire (the same) and Red Crossbill (not many reported this winter season) Thanks so much Mike Hendrickson Duluth, Minnesota Website: http://webpages.charter.net/mmhendrickson/ Blog: http://colderbythelakebirding.blogspot.com/ ______________________________________________________________________ Ohio-birds mailing list, a service of the Ohio Ornithological Society. Our thanks to Miami University for hosting this mailing list. Additional discussions can be found in our forums, at www.ohiobirds.org/forum/. You can join or leave the list, or change your options, at: http://listserv.muohio.edu/scripts/wa.exe?LIST=OHIO-BIRDS Send questions or comments about the list to: [log in to unmask]